Brightest Moon
by QueenJen
Summary: "The girl stands alone, in Olympus, holding her bow in challenge to a great foe. The gods have abandoned their land. They dare not face this beast, this.. shadow that the girl bravely stands against." With a new dark prophecy casting fear into hearts, a daughter of the moon is needed.
1. Prologue

_The room was coated in a thick silence, one that felt unnatural, sticky, hanging heavily on the five figures. Each held a unbreakable stare at the others, somehow connecting the gaze with all, though they were seated in a circle. Their thrones, shining with a thin coating of gold, seemed out of place in the center of the hall, but the statures on them were sitting tall and comfortably, radiating a sheen almost like that of the chairs.  
_

_One figure was lounged slightly back, tan legs folded in his khaki shorts and sandals. He looked a bit out of place, shirt a dark pink with white prints of palm trees, black beard spilling into the collar, one hand holding a giant trident in his fingertips, twirling it in smooth rings, a half a grin on his face though his sea green eyes were serious. He was Poseidon, god of the sea.  
_

_Then next god did not look nearly as good natured. His thick gray brows burrowed them selves deep between his stormy gray eyes, betraying an incredulous look on his proud face. His black suit clad form perched on the edge of his throne, hands gripping the armrests as if he were about to jump up and smite someone, particularly with a stylish array of lightening. This was Zeus, god of the skies.  
_

_The man to the right of Zeus was the only one who looked thoroughly amused. He had albino white skin and dark black eyes that were clearly laughing silently at the others. His hair was jet silk and hung to his shoulders where it brushed along a very peculiar robe. The cloth was black and had small wisps of a lighter color swirling through them. If examined closer, one would realize they were faces, lost souls woven into the man clothing, for this was Hades the god of the underworld. _

_Completing the circle were two who looked just as alike as they did different. They both appeared in their early teens, though true to the others, they were gods as well, and were really much older._

_The boy,-man-, was athletic looking, with sandy blonde hair and a tense smile. He was dressed casually enough, in black jeans and a green T-shirt, but he radiated an aura golder than any of the more powerful gods, nearly blending with the gold of the chair. He was Apollo, god of the sun._

_The girl shared Apollo's general look, but her hair was auburn pulled pack into a ponytail. Her eyes shone a silvery yellow, and her slim fingers gripped the bow on her lap like a life line. She was Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon. Usually a fierce woman, she now looked strained.  
The five made a strange gathering, but then, when it came to gods, nothing was too strange.  
_

_"This idea." Zeus mumbled, through gritted teeth. His voice was like thunder, rumbling around the room to demand authority. "Is lunacy."  
_

_"This idea might save us all." Artemis responded, sounding almost as though she was explaining something to a small child for a third or fourth time. The sky god didn't seem to appreciate the tone, lightening sparking off his fingers.  
_

_"I believe this idea is marvelous!" Hades chuckled, giving his brother a look that dared him to deny it.  
_

_"She made an oath on the river Styx!" The lightening cracked as Zeus rose to the defiance. "She is not to have children!"  
_

_"It'd be more like...adoption." Poseidon said cautiously, still twirling his trident. "But like... blood adoption."  
_

_The god of lightening threw up his hands glaring at his brothers and the twins. "You support this, yet it could be our undoing!"  
_

_"It could also be our salvation." Apollo said slowly. "Zeus, you know the prophecy we spoke of beforehand! It is beyond clear what it asks and entails, and yet you still cannot see this is a gamble we must take?" _

"_Olympus is closed." The gray haired man growled. His voice crushed over them like a verbal Niagara Falls, reverberating everywhere in the room. More lights flashed outside. "And from what I can tell, all we must do is wait until the demigods have solved this problem- And you still want to interfere! Besides the fact our constant help is probably summoning these ancient powers, they need to know their place. We will not always step in to save them, help them-"  
_

_"Oh, you stubborn old coot."  
_

_A wave of water washed over Zeus, thoroughly drenching him and the spot in the center of the circle where he had lept up to rant. His entire body sparked and smoked for a few seconds like an electronic sputtering out, before it was just the god, standing drenched and casting a very ominous look towards Poseidon.  
_

_The sea man ignored him, just grinning and continuing to play with his trident.  
_

_"As the 'Big Three'," He began, raising his free hands to make air quotes with his fingers around big three, "We will hereby vote in decision of this request... which is actually for once resulting in a fair, even vote...without Zeus taking charge... ahem, Brothers, raise your arm in favor of?"  
Poseidon raised his hand higher, ignoring the death glare and literal sparks that were being sent his way.  
_

_Hades gleefully shot his arm in the air, completely entertained by the argument between his younger siblings, and still in favor of the vote. _

"_It's settled then!" The god of death said with a smile, also ignoring Zeus as the man turned on him, choosing to continue talking. "I'm not exactly sure how it will work, bu-u-ut I'm sure it will be interesting."  
_

_"You may go through with your act." Poseidon clarified for a finale.  
_

_Artemis smiled once, a grim little twist of the lips to her brother, before standing and bowing slightly towards Zeus. _

"_Thank you father."  
_

_Apollo followed suit and they bowed to Poseidon and Hades as well. "Thank you, uncles."  
_

_Hades wriggled his fingers in a wave like 'toodles!' as Artemis disappeared in a little twinkle of silver. Before going after her, Apollo looked at Zeus, who was, by a judge by his literally smoking person, about to electrocute one of his brothers. Apollo bit back a laugh, keeping his face stony and voice monotone.  
_

_"Father, do not forget I am also a prophet. In time, you will see and be thankful. Besides, this isn't really a break in her oath. I mean, su-u-ure, the kid will be hers, but it'll have my blessing, and Arty will still be a virg-"  
_

_A bolt of lightening hit the floor, shattering a ceiling window with a pop, smoldering the floor dangerously close to the sun gods feet.  
_

_"Er, right, thanks pops, bye!"_

* * *

_The goddess stood upon a slim obsidian rock, starring up at the full moon. It's light washed over her like warm rays of the sun, sliding over her pale skin like liquid. She let out a small sigh of content, and a small wolf howled in response. Artemis slid her moon colored eyes to the animal, who was emerging slowly from the woods. Her lips slid into a thin smile as she observed the animal, who stared back at her in an unblinking challenge._

"_Begone lovely. This is no place for you, not now."  
_

_The wolf bowed it's head with a whimper, backing into the surrounding forest once more. _

_The woman looked utterly serene, standing tall on her bare legs and feet, short snow white tunic flickering in the gentle breeze. Her bow was slung across her back along side her quiver, each a flash of silver in the illuminated night. There was a nearly invisible fluctuate in the light as her brother appeared next to her, taking up the remaining room on the pedestal. He now wore his own bow and quiver over his human clothes, identical to his sisters in all but color, as his were a warm gold hue.  
_

_"Shall I begin, little sister?"  
_

_Artemis raised one thin eyebrow. "I'm older than you, little brother. And yes. We need to be ready when the moon is at it's highest."_

_They each reached into their quivers, pulling out one arrow each. One silver, one gold.  
_

_Apollo knelt cupping his arrow as his hands began to glow with warm sunshine. The arrow was bathed in the light, blending and twisting into the gold, under the arrow was a spiral of the metal, and glistening, warm sunshine. He rose and presented it to Artemis, who took it gingerly in her free hand.  
_

_"Thank you brother. You may depart."  
_

_"Anytime. Know for their life, this child will have protection in the day, as well as night."  
_

_The woman nodded gratitude, the light bent again and then he was gone.  
_

_Artemis turned her attention to the two arrows in her hands. She squeezed the silver arrows tip in her palm until it was coated in her godly blood. The tip shone the color of the other arrow, as gods blood was an immortal golden. She let a small bit more well into her cupped hand before the wound closed.  
_

_The goddess tilted her head back slightly, basking in the moonlight. Suddenly, each of the arrows began to melt.  
_

_Her silver arrow liquified, spilling into her palm to swirl with the immortals blood. Apollo's arrow looked the equivalent of fire.  
_

_She quickly cupped her hands together, tightly sealing the liquids inside. Artemis kissed the back of each of her palms. When she opened her hands, a tiny golden seed was all that remained.  
_

_Artemis stepped to the edge of the obsidian rock column. She knelt and put a hand down on the rock, and suddenly a small hole appeared. The huntress gently pressed the seed in the hole, buried and, and proceeded to pull a small knife from her belt.  
_

_She cut a deep gash in her arm, 'watering' the plant with her life force, and it began to grow.  
_

_A cool purple stem branched from the ground, growing rapidly up about a foot before spiraling back towards the ground. Then a small blossom appeared at the end.  
_

_It grew and drew into a silver bud about the size of a head, settling on the ground and bending the stem. Still, the bud continued getting larger.  
_

_Artemis watched, biting her lip as the stem turned golden as her blood flowed through it. Slowly, the giant silver bud, about the size of two basketballs, began taking on a golden sheen. At that point, the goddess let out a sigh of relief, and allowed her blood to stop flowing into the plant.  
_

_She kneeled still, leaning forward as the blossom began to pull open, as if it were to reveal a flower.  
_

_Instead however, the petals peeled back and showed a still newborn child.  
_

_Artemis picker her up gently, but the babe didn't even breath in response. She appeared dead.  
Then, the goddess of the moon kissed her forehead, and raised her up, drenching her in silver moonlight. The child shot to life, crying and screaming.  
_

_Artemis smiled and brought her close, cuddling the baby into her godly warmth. __  
_

_"You are my first born. Welcome, little one."  
_

_And the goddess gently lulled her to sleep, singing the prophecy that had resulted in her birth. Little did the babe know, it already hinted at her death._

**_"A Half-Blood of the Virgin Goddess,_**  
**_blessed by the light, blessed by the sun,_**  
**_Born of the moon, born of the hunt;_****_  
_****_Trying to fix what is amiss,  
_****_In the process saving Olympus._****_  
_****_Follow the trail of the falling dust,  
_****_Hidden where the snake heads lie,  
_****_No one will answer her final cry. "_**

* * *

**PLEASE READ Down here!**  
Yes this is a daughter of Artemis OC type of story, and my plot really does hinge on her, but please don't throw me to the wolves just yet! Because a lot of Artemis children stories fail, I'd really like STRONG FEEDBACK! In other words, please feel free to flame as long as it's semi constructively! I really want to work to make this story a success because I feel like I have an interesting plot planned.  
Also, anyone who has any contributions or knows a lot about the PJatO/HoO series, and wants to help me out, that'd be great!

FINALLY, this fanfiction is taking place (as of chapter 1) as Son of Neptune ends, and throughout the next book, but no events from SoN or Mark of Athena will be mentioned. Obviously, this event in the prologue is taking place years years before either series.

Thanks for reading!

**_-Jen_**


	2. Πρώτη Ημέρα, Καλωσορίσατε τα τέρατα!

_**The chapter titles will be either in Greek or roman, but don't panic, I'll always translate them below. **_

_**And, I promise I wont have notes at the top and bottom of every chapter haha. READ ON! (:**_

* * *

**Πρώτη μέρα,Καλωσορίσατε τα τέρατα**  
**First Day, Welcome to the Monsters!****  
**Chapter One.

Her foot slipped, and she fell.  
The slightly painful half-roll-half-stumble down the staircase wasn't even the worst part. That title could be claimed by the fact that the stairs led into the lunch room, and practically everyone was starring at her as her books and supplies thonked one by one out of her bag, beginning their noisy journey down the steps.

A few tables laughed, and Cynthia blushed.

_What a great way to split in half my first day._

She slowly rose to her feet, ignoring everyone and gathering up her belongings. Soon, another pair of thin fingers joined her in collecting, and Cynthia looked up, sweeping back her dark auburn hair to look at the familiar face.

It was her Student Council guide Jennifer Talright. Cynthia's face melted with relief. It was amazing what confidence the other girl brought, though she a bit on the short side, with shoulder length frizzy brown hair. Nothing special, but she was a life saver to any new student.

"Thanks, Jen! I'm really glad to see you, I was so lost last period!"

The shorter girl handed over the others belongings and picked up her brown paper lunch bag.  
"Oh, I'm really sorry about that!" She cringed and gave Cynthia an apologetic look as she led her into the lunch room. "Voting was today, and I forgot I had to leave early to get you..I'm so so so sorry-"  
"It's okay, I swear!"

"Everything turned out okay though, right?"

Cynthia contemplated this as she slung her bag over her shoulder, making sure it was zipped this time, as they headed towards the hot lunch line.

"Yeah, I think so! I might have made some more friends, unless they were being sarcastic, I'm not really sure..."  
They had been blonde and barbie looking after all. Never trust a barbie.  
People continued to stare at the tall chestnut redhead as she moved through the tables, much to her discomfort.  
"You'd think they'd seen enough already, I've been here all morning." Cynthia muttered to herself. She knew the stares would last all day, then tomorrow, when everybody had a gist of her personality, they would try to fit her into a group. It was always like that.  
Cynthia lived in a stable little family with her single father. They had a decent amount of money due to her fathers good journalism job, and teaching creative writing at several universities, but they were always skipping around from city to city because of it. Right now for instance, they didn't know how long they were going to be in New York, so they were staying in a hotel. How homely.  
At the first couple schools, she had tried successfully to get in with the populars, and that always worked out great, but it got boring. She learned it was more fun to hang out with the middles, those who weren't quite popular but weren't losers either. It was way more fun, as they generally didn't care what people thought of them.

Cynthia was a lot like that. She was always doing her own thing, a very independent and proud person since she was child. Of course, maybe her 'pride' would be better respected if she wasn't falling over all the time, but, she was clumsy as hell, what can you do.

She listened carefully to Jen as she pointed out particular people in the cafeteria, who Cynthia should avoid, who she might want to be friends with. She lingered her description on a table towards the back, filled with preppy looking girls giggling at some boys and not visibly eating.

"Of course, there's the Jordans, basically the populars I guess. I bet you'd fit in, you're pretty, probably smarter than all of them put together though."  
Cynthia laughed at the compliments.  
"Oh, not really. I get B's and C's. I'm really dyslexic and sorta ADHD, so school's kind of hard for me. Thanks anyway. I'm more interested in your friends! If they're anything like you I'd love to hang with them. Where are they?"  
Jen bit her lip and had that look that said she was about to apologize. She was such an open book, it was amazing how well Cynthia could read her, and she had only known Jen since that morning. She had a feeling they were going to be friends.  
Now though, Cynthia raised an eyebrow in a way that said, 'don't apologize for nothing,' so the girl bit back the sorry with a little laugh as she stepped back to let the auburn purchase her food.

"There's four of us, including me. It's a small group but we're all close. We eat in the gym, even though we aren't supposed to. You wanna come?"

Cynthia hesitated then grinned. "Course I do!"  
Jen smiled back and ushered the taller girl to follow her as she took off skipping across the cafeteria. The brunette got more then a few disapproving stares, but Cynthia just grinned.

_Maybe this school will be kinda fun after all._

The two girls easily made it to the gymnasium without getting in trouble, despite the constant warnings from Jen to be quiet. They slid in the blue double doors and Jen led Cynthia up into the bleachers where three others sat among book bags and lunches.  
There was a girl, country looking with carrot orange hair pulled into braids on either one of her shoulders. She was skinny with kind blue eyes and smiled brightly when she saw Cynthia.

"Ooh, aren't you the new girl?" She flicked herself in the head, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, you're probably tired of people saying that. I'm Kelsey."

"Cynthia." She answered, smiling and setting down her lunch.  
The two boys looked up from where they were arm wrestling, each straddling the bleacher and looking a bit red in the face.  
One had cocoa colored skin with shaggy black hair that fell around his ears. The ends were uneven and died blue. He gave a little smile and jerk of the head as a hello, then let out a little puff of air as his forearm was shoved down, falling sideways of the bleacher. He landed on the next step down and glared at the other boy, who had thrown his hands in the air and was whooping victory.  
The winner twisted around and hopped over to where Cynthia had sat down next to Kelsey. He was a bit elf like in appearance, Asian with pointed ears and spiky blonde hair.

"I'm Brooklyn, like the city, don't even say it's a girls name or we can't be friends."  
Cynthia leaned slightly away from the suspicious one narrowed eye stare he was giving her.

"Everyone calls me B-lyn though."

"Um, I'm-"

"Cynthia, I know, stuff echoes a bit in here." He smiled and his face melted into a normal friendly grin. "Sorry if I'm scarring you, I'm a bit hyper. They make me see the counselor." He winked, stood back up and threw his arms in the air once more.  
"Like happiness is a crime!" Then he was jumping back over to the other boy, helping him back up before pulling a basket ball from a nearby book bag. They sped down to the gym floor to play and Cynthia shifted her gaze to Kelsey and Jen, who were eating their lunch and looking embarrassed.  
The auburn teen wasn't exactly sure how to react.  
Jen slowly swallowed a bite of her sandwich, than gave her a sheepish grin.

"B-Lyn's a bit... eccentric. Josh and us are relatively normal though."

Cynthia looked over at the two boys, shooting hopes and dribbling with careless style.

"His names Josh? He seems quiet."

"Everyone seems quiet when B-Lyn's in the room." Kelsey said with a laugh. "He was new here a few months ago too, no one really likes him because he's so hyperactive. It's kinda cute though."  
The new girl turned back with a grin. "Ooh, you like him!"  
Kelsey turned red, looking comical next to her hair, but she didn't deny it. "What about you Jen? Do you and Josh have a thing?"

The brunette shook her head. "No, I have a boyfriend. He's in video club." She got a dreamy eyed stare, and Cynthia was under the impression that weird as they may seem, she was going to like this group.

* * *

****Of course, then the wall long windows over the bleachers exploded behind them, glass raining down on the three girls. Strong winds ripped in, filling the ceiling with shards of glass, swirling around and around and snapping harshly down towards the teens. The girls quickly scrambled down to the courts, where B-Lyn and Cody starred open mouthed at the now open windows.

"What the heck is up with those birds!" Kelsey asked with a worried look, and Cynthia spun to look as she jumped off the last bleacher step.  
They weren't birds.  
They seemed almost like black clouds, yet more solid and had the form of three humans sitting casually on the window sill. There was another form, this one horse, lightening filled eyes lolled around the room then landing on Cynthia. She didn't know how she could tell it was looking at her, with its eye sockets full of electricity, but it was.  
"Those are not birds!" She choked, and they all gave her weird looks.

"Yes they are..." Jen said slowly, but Cynthia was more focused on Josh and B-Lyn, who both exclaimed, "You see them too!"

"What are you guys-" Kelsey began, but was knocked forward by a strong wind. The tornado alarm was echoing through the gym among the heavy winds and glass that was like hail.

B-Lyn grabbed her and Jen, practically dragging them towards the doors that led deeper into the school. It was amazing he could even move in the strong winds circling the gym, like an invisible whirlpool. Josh and Cynthia were being slowly pushed inwards. And then, the dark cloud-people jumped off the window into the gym.  
Cynthia let out a shriek as one swooped towards them, lightening flickering on it's arms. Then B-Lyn was back, stabbing the vapor being with a piece of a volleyball net pole.

Josh exchanged a wide eyed look with Cynthia, then they both blinked as the shriked and sped towards the others where they seemed to chatter for a moment.  
B-Lyn looked just as surprised that he had managed to scare it off. He dropped the pole and quickly sprinted the rest of the way to the others. He leaned over Cyntha, and sniffed long and loud through his nose.  
"Pardon!" Cynthia exclaimed shoving him away.

B-Lyn cursed. "You're one too! Stupid perfume, masking a demigod. Terrible stuff they make nowadays..."  
To their horror, the blonde unzipped his jeans and kicked off his gym shoes. Revealing furry legs and hoofs.  
Cynthia paled and gave him an incredulous look.  
"B-Lyn whats going on!" Josh snapped, his voice soft and deep. "What are these things? What are you?"

"I'm a satyr. These are Anemoi Thuellai, storm spirits. They're here to try and kill you two because you're demigods."

"What!"

"Just follow me!"

Neither understood exactly but they followed B-Lyn in a stumbling run to the emergency exit under the bleachers.

The made it half way down the hill, struggling through the tornado like fury of winds, until the horse spirit swooped down in front of them, body shooting with lightening.  
"I don't suppose either of you have any powers you'd like to share?" B-Lyn muttered,sounding concerned.  
"You're the one who knows whats going on!" Cynthia screamed over the wind, throwing out her arms.  
The strangest thing then took place.

Her hand looked to be covered in silver liquid, as did a stripe on her shoulder. She let out a little scream as the silver crept off her arm, manifesting and twisting into a small bow. A quiver full of arrows added wight to her shoulder.

"What are these!" She squeaked.  
"You were holding out on us! Go ahead take it down!"  
Cynthia just stared at B-Lyn with her mouth legitimately dropped. "I don't know how to shoot a bow!" She finally recovered enough to explain.

The satyr belted out a scared noise sounding almost like a sheep. "Seriously? Hand them over then!"  
She happily tossed them to the half-goat, and Josh grabbed her arm, quickly running over towards the schools running track. Cynthia glanced back, watching B-Lyn skewer a person looking spirit, and deflecting a lightening bolt with her bow, which seemed to absorb the electricity. Gold dust gathered where the horse had stood, and in the air where the other had gotten shoot, before it was blown away in the wind.  
There were two more, and Josh's face fell as they stopped and crouched under a tree to observe the battle.

"Look." He said quietly. "His leg."  
"He's hurt!"

The satyr was limping, leg looking burnt. He had gotten hit with a bolt. He was trying to shoot one of the storm spirits while his balance was off, and another was sneaking up behind him.

"No!"

Josh jumped up, rushing forward and ignoring Cynthia's cries for him to wait. It seemed impossible that he could reach B-Lyn before he was killed but he covered ground like an Olympic runner, jumping and colliding with the storm spirit as it was about rear up on B-Lyn.  
They crashed to the ground, but Josh soon lost hold, as the thing wasn't exactly solid. It rose, cackling and flickering with sparks- when an arrow struck it in the side and it crumpled to golden dust.

Cynthia jumped up and raced towards the others, cursing herself out mentally.

Josh had been able to save B-Lyn without a weapon, yet she had had the bow and arrows, and she couldn't do a thing. How helplessly worthless she was.  
She reached her friends as Josh was helping B-Lyn lay down, the satyr grimacing in pain. His furry leg looked charred.  
"B-Lyn-" She began apologetically, but he cut her off with a grin and a tut.

"In time with training you'll be able to fight like a true Greek warrior. Now though, you're overwhelmed. It's okay."

Cynthia didn't respond and looked at Josh, admirably, and somewhat enviously.  
"You were able to help. You saved him. You were brave while I... I hid."

He shrugged and continued looking at B-Lyns leg. She contemplated him. He was so quiet but seemed so complicated, so selfless.

"I'm not brave." He sighed. "B, I don't know what we're going to do about you. I would call 911, but... your, like, a satyr."  
B-Lyn perked up. "You have a phone? Right now? Can I use it? I know who can help all of us."

* * *

**READ HERE please (:**

**Okay. It's a bit rough but I wanted to get it out. I'm not sure if I like the action scene. bah. (: PLEASE let me know what you think! I'm having a rough debate about who Josh's godly parent should be too, any contributions would be wonderful lol.**

**Also, I know Cynthia seems a bit... girly at the moment, but in any realistic moment this is happening... I mean, come on, you'd be hiding too haha (: or at least I would! And I always try and bit aspects of my and my friends personalities into my characters, just so I know personally that they're realistic.**

**ANYWAY, rant over, please review! Not in an attention hogging sort of way, just a few quick words if I should continue or not, and what I can improve on.**

**Thanks and lots of love!**  
**-Jen**


	3. Κατασκήνωση αίματοςΜισό

**Κατασκήνωση αίματος-Μισό**  
**Camp Half-Blood  
**(It's a bit rough but I'm trynig to get something out every Thursday...Sorry it's not very exciting)

* * *

"What do you mean it's not fixed yet?"

Cynthia watched B-Lyn's face contort in irritation, snorting a bit at the way his his eyebrows furrowed and his nose turned up.

"It's just a chariot! How hard can that be to repair? …... Okay, yeah flying chariot, whatever... well then tell someone to come with some pegasi...three... Naw, they're capable... Yeah! Butch is cool!... Cool, we're outside the school..."  
She raised an eyebrow at Josh who smiled a little back as the satyr finished making arrangements and tossed the phone back to Josh.

"Hey!" He yelped, barely catching it. "This is expensive!"

B-Lyn shrugged. "You're not allowed to have phones at Camp anyway."  
"Camp?" Cynthia questioned. "Is that where we're going? Can you please explain things better to us?"

Josh nodded in agreement, finishing wrapping up the satyrs lower leg with a a strip of cloth from the bottom of his T-Shirt.  
"It's really not that hard... Both of you are demigods, meaning one of your parents is a Greek god. Or, maybe Roman I guess, but that's extremely unlikely because Lupa would've gotten you already."  
"Lupa?"

"Bah, never mind, your Greek, that's all you need to know. You'll find out who your godly parent is once we get to camp. How old are you two?"

"Fifteen." They said in unison.

That look of annoyance came on B-Lyn's face again.  
"Hm, you were supposed to have been claimed when you turned thirteen. Well, I guess that's why we didn't find you early. Both your parents must be pretty minor gods or goddesses if you've never been attacked before now. Meaning you wont have much godly powers or whatever, but at Camp Half-Blood you'll learn how to fight monsters and blahblahblah. Lucky for you we're basically in a war at this point, so you'll have some pretty exciting training and quests."

Both teens sat silently, taking in what he said. Thankfully, both were thoughtful types of people, so they didn't begin panicking or anything, even though B-Lyn wasn't exactly gentle with his explanation.

"Uh... Oh yeah," He reached behind him in the grass and grabbed the silver bow, sitting up slightly to sling the quiver off his back. He thrust them towards Cynthia. "Here. These are yours."

"Uh, how do I make them disappear?" She needn't of asked, for as soon as she was holding them, concentrating on the thought she wanted them gone, they melted into silvery goo that melded back into her arms.

"That's either gross or creepy." She said, cringing as the goo disappeared on her. "Maybe both."

"Kinda cool though," Josh said with a sideways grin. "Supports B's explanation, so at least we know he isn't crazy."  
That earned him a slap in the back of the head by B-Lyn who was scowling. "If you didn't believe me after the storm spirits, I'd say you were just stupid. Look, here comes our ride."

The looked up and Cynthia's eyes popped.

Four horses with great wings of white were coming towards them in a diamond formation. On the first horse, or Pegasus, a figure perched leading the creatures. They spiraled down, folding they're wings in tightly and trotted to a halt near the three on the grass. The figure hopped off the bare back of the front horse, smiling warmly at them.

He was the least expected person to jump off a Pegasus, having every appearance associated with the word muscles. He had a face like a brick with a shaved head, looking like some army cadette, except he had a rainbow tattooed on his biceps. His orange t-Shirt said Camp Half-Blood, enforcing where they were going.

He looked excited, saying "Hey" to all of them as he walked over, but specifically looking at Josh. He held out his hand, still grinning, and Josh took it hesitantly, face turning shocked as he was pulled into a 'manly' hug.

"Bro, I'm so glad you didn't get toasted. Ma said you'd be here, and told you to say sorry she hasn't claimed you yet, but she will when you get to camp. Whats your name?"

"Josh." He muttered into Butch's shoulder.

B-Lyn wrinkled up his face at the muscled boy. "Butch, man, I've never seen you this, uh, not violent." Then he paused. "Wait, are you saying Josh is a son of Iris?"

Butch nodded as he stepped away from the shorter teen glaring at the satyr for the earlier comment.

"Iris? Like, the rainbow goddess?" Josh said timidly, still a bit wary from the unexpected hug.  
"Yeah."

Cynthia couldn't help the curl to her lips, instantly regretting it as Butch turned his glare on her.

"And who're you?"

"Cynthia." Then, on second though she added, "Wait, then who's my mom?"

"You know for sure your godly parent's your mom?" B-Lyn asked, grasped Butch's extended hand to help himself stand.

"Well, my dad raised me so I'm assuming."

The half-goat looked even more confused. "Maybe you were adopted? I figure you're an Apollo kid from the whole bow manifestation."

"Let's figure it out once we get to camp, the pegasi are getting restless."

Josh and Cynthia followed Butch over to the horses, B-Lyn leaning heavily onto the buff boy. "I only saddled two, sorry, the stables were busy. Who volunteers bareback?"

To the others surprise Cynthia raised her hand casually.

"What? I like horses, and it can't be that bad right?" Butch grinned.  
"Not once you're used to it, but better you than a guy I guess. Saddle up!"

Josh hoisted himself into the back pegasus's saddle, teetering dangerously before finding his balance. He grinned at Cynthia and gave her a thumbs up like, 'That was easy!'. The winged horse snorted and fluttered its wings, almost knocking Josh off. The auburn haired teen laughed and turned her gaze to Butch who was helping B-Lyn and securing his lame leg.

"Don't let go." He warned.

"I'm not stupid." The satyr scoffed back.

Butch turned to Cynthia. "Need help?"  
"Lemme try first, then maybe." She laughed.  
She looked up at the pegasus which was at least nearly a foot taller than her. She glanced at Butch as he swung himself onto his own barebacked pegasus. Literally, swung.

"It it okay to grab their mane like that?"  
"Fine, just c'mon."

Cynthia raised her eyebrows but turned back to her pegasus, grabbing a small fistfull of it's mane. She swung her leg, feeling her jeans stretch... and got a bit stuck.

"What do I do!" She called to Butch in a panic. She heard both B-Lyn and Josh laughing and glared at the horses neck, the only place she could really look. The pegasus shook a little like it was trying to prompt her on. She hopped a little to no luck.

Then she was being pushed in the but and was perched on the pegasuss' back in a few seconds.

She gave Butch an embarrassed look as he moved away back to his own horse. He just laughed, jumped on his identical white pegasus with ease and they all began slowly trotting forwards.

The wings on Cynthia's pegasus slowly unfurled, and she reached out to feel them. They felt like baby light swan feathers.  
She tucked her feet back a little to give the wings some beating room and then they were in the air and the wind was blowing and Cynthia couldn't keep in the little giggle of glee that escaped her.

"Alright guys, get a good hold, we're speeding up!"

The pegasi beat they're wings harder and Cynthia leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her horses neck to stay on. She glanced to the side and say B-Lyn holding on for dear life and Josh looking down intently. Cynthia looked down as well.

Everything was blurred but still distinguishable, land and towns passing under the clouds like a film on super fast forward, skipping here and there. It was intriguing.

It went on like this for roughly ten minutes when suddenly they slowed down.  
The scenery had changed.

An uncolored ocean stretched out to the left while fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like rimmed with snow tipped hills on three sides and water to the north. Cynthia glimpsed a group of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a large mansion, a huge pavilion, what looked like an an archery field, a sword fighting arena, an amphitheater, courts, a climbing wall, a lake and several other buildings.  
Butch led the pegasi into the valley, landing them In the camp near stables. He dismounted then made rounds to help everyone else, and by then a small crowd of maybe fifteen had gathered.

They were mostly kids, maybe nine to eighteen, all wearing orange T-Shirts except for the couple in bits of armor holding swords or other weapons.

A girl came out from the stables and ushered the pegasi to the side of the stables. Butch looked around.

"Did the Argo II team leave?"

"Just left." Someone said.

Butch rolled his eyes. "Great timing we have. Okay, well someone get Will, I think we have an Apollo girl."

"Thanks for forgetting about me!" They turned to look at B-Lyn, who was leaning on Josh, grimacing.

"Someone help the whining satyr."

"Hey!"  
"C'mon Brooklyn, let's get you some ambrosia." A boy said, taking B-Lyn from Josh, despite the Satyrs protests.

"Don't call me Brooklyn! Don't leave me with this disgrace of a man! Noo!"

His shouts faded into the distance as he was led away and people laughed.  
"Who're they?"Another voice said, and then the crowd parted to let a tall surfer looking guy walk over to Cynthia, Josh and Butch. "I though Brooklyn was only bringing back one."

"I guess he found the girl too, Cynthia, I think she might be one of yours, apparently she manifested a bow and arrows."

Will looked Cynthia up and down closely before shrugging. "Maybe! What about him?"

"This is Josh, he's my brother, should be claimed soon enough."  
On cue, a glowing symbol appeared above Joshs head, radiating white light that refracted several colors at once. A rainbow was in the center. The crowd gasped and smiled, while Cynthia and Josh stared at the strange hologram in horror.

"What the heck!" Josh said quietly waving his hands through the rainbow. It stayed, casting light on him before slowly disappearing.

"What was that?" Cynthia asked dumbly.

"That's a claiming. Hopefully you'll get one from Apollo before dinner tonight!" Will smiled and Cynthia decided he seemed friendly enough. He turned to Josh.  
"There's only a few Iris children here, they'll be happy to get a new roommate. Butch, wanna show him around and to the cabin?"

Butch smiled.

"Sure! C'mon bro, let's go meet the relatives!"

"I'll see you later," Josh assured Cynthia, flicking the blue tips of his hair off his forehead. He waved a bit, smiled, then was off with Butch.

The few campers who were still hanging around stared intently at Cynthia for a few awkward moments before losing interest and walking away.

"Why are they all looking at me like that?" She whispered to Will. He laughed.

"They probably thought you'd get claimed right away like Josh. If campers come in and they're over thirteen, they're usually claimed quickly."

"Oh."

"I'll show you around in the meantime, Apollo's probably busy or something." He began walking and Cynthia hurried after him.

"What if Apollo's not my dad? I mean, my dad raised me, and I'm pretty sure he's not Apollo. Oh, can I call him or something so he knows I'm not dead?"

"Maybe you were adopted. And don't worry, someone's already taking care of that."

Cynthia's brows furrowed. Everyone kept saying that, but she couldn't have been adopted. She and her dad looked every bit alike as possible, except the hair and the eyes. So her godly parent had to be her mother. But she wouldn't crush Will's excitement, as he was happily showing her the archery range, enthusing how she would spend a lot of time there. So she smiled. Even if her godly parent wasn't Apollo, this camp still seemed amazing. She was sure life would be fine.

* * *

**Josh**

The dark skinned boy followed Butch around blindly, half listening as he pointed out various perks and buildings of the camp. He was mainly interesting in his parents. It would explain why his dad was always so secretive about his mom. But he couldn't believe he had been lied to the whole time he had been growing up. It was weird to think.

"-Usually we do have more campers, but only some stay year round. Most are only here for summer."

"Nice."

"Here come the cabins. Iris is technically a minor goddess, so her cabin isn't as grand as the original twelve, I'll explain that sometime, but I think it's still pretty nice."

They passed the outside of the arch where the cabins formed the Greek omega sign. Each cabin was spectacular in its own special way, whether it had a grass roof or was a temple in itself. He wondered what his cabin would look like, since Butch made it sound not that grand.

"Here we are, good old cabin fourteen."

Josh looked up and his eyes widened. Contrary to what he had thought, the cabin was gorgeous. The two story walls looked like glass, glazed over with shimmering rainbow white, and radiating a glow that he could see even though the sun was still fairly high. The sloped roof looked something like an otherworldly art project, splatter painted with shimmering rainbow paint over a florescent white background.

"It's so bright!" Josh said in awe. He had never been one to have much fascination or love for white or light, but that had seemingly changed now.

"Only Iris kids see the true glow, so it doesn't look this good to the others. C'mon wait till you see the inside."

Though the cabin was obviously two stories, it had looked smaller on the outside than what it was. When Josh entered he immediately laid eyes on a small fountain, mist spraying upwards and creating rainbows in every direction over it from the sunroof directly above. The actual furnishings were all located behind the railing that squared off the center. One side was a full out art room, with canvases on easels and laying around to spare, shelves of books, sketches, construction paper, glue, and basically any other arts and crafts you could think of. Large windows showed the camp, but weren't visible from the outside obviously.

The other side was occupied by a corner decorated like a celebrities game room with a large TV and a small kitchen taking up the long wall.

Everything was stylishly designed and matched so it looked like a model home, but way cooler.

Butch led Josh through the center square, where the floor turned to stone and Josh was lightly misted over with water, to a rainbow running slanted up the wall. As Butch began to walk up it, Josh realized it was like a ramp, but see through and not quite solid. The buff teen paused and looked back.

"Again, only Iris kids can climb up here, so we're safe from any house pranks from the other cabins, even though they like to soap the fountain..."

Josh quickly walked up the rainbow, willing himself not to fall, and emerged into an attic like space, where the roof came together overhead. Except, it definitely wasn't an attic.

There was one side where three girls sat indian style on three separate beds, head board against the wall, small trunks at the foot in the center of the room creating an aisle. On the other side, Butch had sat on the center bed, and those three had trunks in a similar style. On the bed to his right, nearest to the rainbow-ramp, a boy with bleach blond hair was scribbling in a sketch book.

The area was well decorated, looking extremely expensive but cozy and friendly at the same time. A crystal chandelier hung from the meeting point of the roof and beanbags and books lay about at the very end opposite from where Josh stood.

"Hello!" The girl on the far bed chimed brightly. Her hair was also pretty stark blonde, with pink highlights streaked through it."We heard pretty quick we had a new member so we all came here to meet you."

_Alright good, I thought they all just creepily sat in here all day... _

Josh smiled back at them. "Yeah, I guess I'm like you're new half-brother or whatever." The girls laughed together and the boy next to Butch looked up.

"Guys, this is Josh. We're an easy bunch to get along with," Butch said. "As long as you play nice."

"I'm Kimmy." The blond girl said. "That's my twin brother Kyle. Easy to remember, they sound the same."

Josh nodded, mentally storing the information. He didn't want to mess up the names of his new family.

"I'm Olivia." The center girl said. She had dark brown hair and an open face, but her voice was a pitch to high, making her sound childish, but innocent and likable.  
"And I'm Grace!"

Grace looked most like Josh would imagine a goddess to be. She had curly black hair that fell to her mid back and bottomless chocolate brown eyes that smiled all on their own. Her skin was a few shades lighter than Joshs' , but like a milky chocolate.

"Nice to meet you all."

"I'm glad you're here, now we have equal genders." Kyle joked. "We always got outvoted before. The open beds all yours of course."

Josh smiled and laughed. He knew immediately these people would be easy to get along with. They all seemed quiet but happy in the way that he was, and they liked drawing. Bonus, as far as Josh was concerned. He loved sports too but drawing was always a secret pass time for him, so he figured he'd fit in nicely. Also, judging from how toned Butch and Kyle seemed, they played sports anyway.

"Come on guys, dinners soon, then the campfire where Josh and the other new girl will get introduced!"

Olivia chirped, over explaining things, probably for Josh's sake.

"Yeah, let's go." Butch said, standing, and everyone followed suit. "Josh, remind me to take you to the armory tomorrow and get you a weapon, maybe get some training done."  
"Er, I'll be sure to do that."

The others giggled and filed down the rainbow-ramp, sweeping Josh along with them through the misty rainbows in the air.

* * *

**OKAY. So first on POV's... I don't plan on switching that often. Sorry.**

So Josh is kid of Iris. Shes a messenger Goddess, explaining Josh's speed in Chapter one, and I thought she was a bit underrated. (: Besides, he can have some cool powers now!  
**  
_I know things are moving a little slow, sorry, I'll try and get a bit of dramatics in the next chapter, probably bring up the prophecy or something._**  
**  
I could use opinions or any help at all with this story! Please REVIEW or PM me if you'd like to help with anything else!**  
**Also, who should the third main character on the quest be?**  
**  
It's Josh Cynthia and... (A)B-Lyn (B)An original book character from camp Jupiter (C)Butch? (D)Someone...else?**  
**  
I'm not sure yet...**  
**  
Anyway, thank you for reading, I promise things will pick up (:**

**-Jen**


	4. Η Διεκδίκηση

(Sorry about irregular spacing -_- It's messed up)

**Η Διεκδίκηση**  
**The Claiming**

* * *

**Cynthia P.O.V**

Will finished up Cythia's tour of the camp, too elated about a new Apollo member to realize half the things he was saying were going through one ear and out the other. He stopped talking as they reached the armory, starring her down seriously.

"Being a demigod is very dangerous. Though it sounds to me like you can manifest a bow anytime you need it, you should also get a main secondary weapon."

Cynthia peered timidly into the small building, paling at the rows of deadly looking apparatus.

"Um..."

"Go on and find a kind you like, then we'll find one right for you."

The auburn teen nodded and stepped into the building, walking slowly through the shelves. There were axes, maces, throwing knives... any object possible capable of fatally injuring someone.  
Cynthia still wasn't sure how she felt about the whole danger and 'killing monsters' thing. She got the gist of it, but nothing had really been explained. Was she really ready to throw her life on the line just because these people said she needed too?  
Just when she was about to turn back to Will and say as much, a weapon caught her eyes.  
They were two swords, laying over their scabbards, looking identical except the Greek writing on the blade. They glistened silver and looked razor sharp, though their cases were worn, rusty leather.  
She moved over and picked them up, in both hands. She wasn't ambidextrous, but the blades felt like such a natural extension of herself already, that as she made a few practice swings, they moved exactly as she pictured them too.

"Interesting choice." Will commented, smiling. She looked up, raising an eyebrow, and glancing at the writing on the swords.

"Why? What do they say?"  
"That one, Νιώστε το φεγγάρι, means feel the moon. And it's twin says Ζήστε το Κυνήγι, experience the hunt. They belonged to a hunter of Artemis. She laid them down for one of her fallen sisters, and Artemis herself blessed them with good fortune for whoever claimed them next. Of course, it's much more detailed than that but dinners soon, and I'll bet your hungry."

"Yeah, I am... So, can I choose these?"  
"All yours! Let me help you with the scabbards..."  
A few moments later, Will had the two swords in their scabbards and attached to her via a small corded belt that blended with her jeans. Hopefully if was stronger then it seemed.

"Alright, let's get over to dinner. I can't wait until you're claimed at the campfire. The Apollo cabin will be happy for another member."

_'If I'm even in your cabin..."_ Cynthia thought to herself, but didn't want to voice the negative statement.  
As the headed towards the pavilion, the girl glanced at Will. He was probably 19 or 20, and seemed like an older brother figure to a lot of the people he had chatted briefly to on the tour.  
"Will, I know the basics I think, but could you really break it down for me? I'm still kind of confused..."

"Sure, okay! Obviously, this is Camp Half-Blood. It's protected by magical boarders that keep monsters and mortals out, unless their invited in. SO we're safe from that unless the borders were to break down, which is now probably never going to happen again. Oh, ignore the again heh... Of course, some people think it's funny to invite monsters in for pranks... But never mind that."

Cynthia wasn't exactly feeling any better from Will's choice of words. If anything she was now more uneasy.

"Mortals can't see the camp at all because of something called Mist, which makes them see 'magical' things differently then we can."  
"Wait, Mist..?" The auburn haired girl asked, weaving around a few campers to catch up to will. Everyone seemed out and about now, meandering slowly towards the pavilion.

"Mist is a boundary that basically separates what we see and what mortals do. Sometimes the image is replaced with something else, and sometimes they just see a blurry cover over the thing in question."  
"So,would normal humans see storm spirits as birds?" Cynthia inquired, thinking about Kelsey and Jen.  
"Strange example, but yes, that's a possibility. However, some mortals have the ability to see through the Mist. Most think they're going crazy, some ignore it, some are parents or family to demigods. But, point being, Mist is a wall between what we see and what mortals see. Get it?"  
"Yeah,"  
'Ok, I'll move on quickly then, the pavilion is just up ahead. Camp Half-Blood is one of the two safest places short or Olympus for a demigod. The only other is Camp Jupiter, but those are for roman demigods. We're Greek, obviously. Here you learn to battle, archery, survival skills, living in the real world and much more. Sometimes you get a prophecy and get sent out on a quest. They used to be irregular, but now there's at least one every week. There's something akin to a war going on. Someone will fill you in later, but basically, Gaea, the Earth Goddess, is trying to kill the gods and demigods and well yeah. You don't need to worry about the details, we already have capable heroes heading off into the fray, to convince the Gods themselves to join us in the fight. We need them, as only a demigod and a God working together can kill Gaea's children."

Cynthia starred at him blankly, getting lost at the bit about Gaea. There was a question on the tip of her tongue but Will held up a hand.

"I'd like to finish the main bits about the camp, just so you know the basics for your first day tomorrow. You can ask anyone about the Gaea thing at dinner though, it's pretty common knowledge though some peoples explanations will differ. Anyway, like I was saying, when you go into the real world on quests or whatnot, and battle monsters, save mortals blahblahblah, that proves if your whether you're a good demigod or not. If you have a powerful aura, determined by your godly parent, more monsters will bother you. As a child of Apollo, you might attract more than some of the more minor gods children. You following?"  
"Yes, I think so.." Cynthia ran a hand through her hair hoping to get a few last questions out as they climbed the final little hill to the open roof pavilion.

"Why are all these demigods here? Aren't they supposed to be in the real world or whatever?"

"Not necessarily. Me and the others are year-rounders. We live here and only leave to live in the real world for short times. The only other times we leave are for quests. Some others who can manage in the real world live there and only come back to camp to train during winter, spring and summer breaks."  
"How does everyone get here? Like me?"  
"Basically. Satyrs will go out and look for demigods. If they think they've found one, they stay and monitor them until they're sure their demigods, then try to escort them safely to camp before, er, well, before they can get killed."

"Oh..."

"Another thing you should know, you can't kill monsters."

"What?" Cynthia demanded., looking surprised. "I thought that was the whole idea of Camp Half-Blood, to train _to_ kill monsters..?"

"Well, yes. But you can only expel them for sometime. If your lucky, you can expel them for a whole lifetime which is rare, so watch out because some monsters will hold grudges when they're reincarnated. On that lovely note I'll leave you to dinner. You can sit at the Apollo table, or you can ask Chiron if you can sit with the Iris boy."  
"Wait Will! Who's Chiron!"  
"I'm the camp director. Pleasure to meet you at last Cynthia Moor."  
She twirled, hair spraying out behind her dramatically, and looked in surprise at the man behind her.  
Er, man..horse. Man-horse.

"I'm a centaur." He said with a little smile, as if reading her mind, and Cynthia flushed a bit. Will clapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"See you later!"

The girl examined Chiron, awed a bit by his, well, horse appearance. He was middle aged with bushy eyebrows and a scruffy beard, and though his brown eyes stared at her intensely, they also looked amused and welcoming. His centaur half was a pretty snow white color and his hooves shifted a bit in place.  
"Come, speak with me before we dine."  
The centaur led her to the side of the pavilion near one of the Greek pillars that surrounded it. They were out of ear shot from the nearest tables, which Cynthia figured were seated by cabin. Everything seemed to rely on who your cabin was. Hopefully hers was nice.

"Cynthia, I believe you've figured out that despite misconceptions, you are no child of Apollo."

Her jaw dropped. That definitely wasn't the conversation starter she had expected.

"Are you... I mean... what? Are you sure!"

"Hm, maybe you haven't figured out then. However, I am sure. I've been expecting your arrival for many years."  
Cynthia felt a pit of dread open her stomach, growing larger and larger as Chiron stared at her with his serious eyes. If she wasn't a child of Apollo, though she had had a suspicion she wasn't, then where did she belong in this camp, where everyone was so closely knit by sibling-hood?

"...But I made a bow appear.." She said weakly. "And..."

"No need to defend your rights as a demigod. You are one, that's for certain. And soon,very soon, you will find out who your mother is, but I wanted you to be prepared at least. Some may find... a problem with your parent."  
"Thank you I guess..."

"Didn't you wish to ask me something as well?" He prompt, giving her a pitying look. Despite his words about her goddess mother apparently going to cause issues, she didn't see why she deserved that sort of look. Cynthia straightened her back and tossed her hair over her shoulder, telling herself to treat it like a new school.

"Yes sir, I was wondering if I would be able to sit with my friend Josh at the, er, Iris table?" Despite wanted to act confident, Cynthia knew she sounded unsure. Chiron just smiled again.

"You have resolve. Good. Yes, go on and sit with your friend. You'll need someone by your side tonight."

"Thank you..." Cynthia didn't know if she was supposed to be worried by that, but the pit in her stomach, still ever growing, tightened.

DARKESTMOON

* * *

Cynthia and Chiron entered the open air pavilion separately.  
The auburn haired teen stood straight on the edge of the concrete, scanning the tables. She was aware of a few closer campers talking about her, and if she would be claimed, but they didn't sound cruel or gossipy, so she paid them no mind.  
There were twelve main, long tables, which held the most campers, though the pavillion also had smaller tables around the larger ones. After a moment of scanning, Cynthia saw Will and a boy her age waving at her. She waved back a little timidly and they made a questioning gesture with their hands, totally in sync.

Cynthia mentally laughed. They even looked alike, Will and the boy, and there hands waving in unison was a funny image.  
At the same time they made the questioning gesture, she spotted Josh at a smaller table with three girls, sitting between Butch and another guy. He looked up, directly at her, like he could feel her eyes, and smiled beckoning her over.  
As she started towards the Iris table, she pointed in that direction to Will and the boy, who nodded acceptably.  
Cynthia approached the table to hear Josh telling the others, "-Her names Cynthia, and I came here with her, so I'd like to think of us as friends so be nice guys!"  
She laughed a little. "You don't need to tell people to like me, they can decide by themselves." Josh blushed slightly averting his eyes, so she smiled and glanced at Butch. "Hi again Butch!"  
He said hello pleasantly, and the rest of the table followed the greeting. "Can I sit with you guys?"  
"Of course!" Josh said at the same time as a dark brown haired girl said,

"That'd be lovely, but it's not allowed to sit outside your cabin."  
"I asked Chiron already because I wanted to sit with Josh, but that's okay if it's not-"  
"It's fine!" The guy with bright blonde hair interrupted hurriedly. "If you asked Chiron there's exceptions..."  
He looked embarrassed by his out burst and quickly looked back down into his lap, where Cynthia spotted a sketch book.  
"Here, sit by Josh," Butch said, scooting down and grabbing an unused cup from farther down. She placed herself between them on the bench as the girls quickly introduced themselves.  
"I'm Olivia, it's soo nice to meet you!" The dark brown haired girl said happily.  
"I'm Kimmy, and that's my brother Kyle." Cynthia nodded in greetings to her, a blonde girl with vibrant pink streaks in her hair. Kyle didn't say anything, just cast Cynthia a fleeting gaze. He seemed a bit weird, but who knew?  
"I'm Grace." The last girl said. Cynthia smiled at them all, grateful for the warm welcome.  
"Cyn, check it out," Josh said, tilting his head towards her with a smile. He raised his goblet looking cup and drained the last of whatever was in it. "You can get whatever drink you want!"  
With that he muttered "Code red Mountain Dew," and the cup filled up by itself with the dark red liquid.  
"Woah! How does that work?" Cynthia gasped.  
Grace giggled and waggled her fingers in the air (which were perfectly manicured. Lucky)  
"Maaagic!" Cynthia raised her eyebrows, mouth quirked in a smile. "Hey, you're in the world of gods now, don't question it!" She chided playfully, and Cynthia nodded, laughing, and muttered to her cup for Cream Soda. Tasting it hesitantly, Cynthia found it was just as good as the best kind she'd ever had.  
"Here comes the grub!" Butch said happily.  
Wood nymphs and dryads melted from the trees with silver platters of food. Barbeque chicken, pork chops, broccoli, warm, buttered rolls and all kinds of mouth-watering 'grub', in Butchs' terms. Josh and Cynthia watched in awe, loading their plates. They were hungry after a long day of pegasi riding and touring. The Iris girls finished filling their own plates and stood up.

"C'mon newbies," Kimmy said. "Follow us!"

Everybody else was getting up also and were going to the center of the Pavilion. The new son of Iris and unclaimed teen followed the rest of the Iris cabin curiously until they came upon a bathtub sized bronze brazier. Campers were scraping in the biggest and ripest fruit, the most freshest piece of meat or the yummiest piece of bread into the flames.

"What's that for?" Josh asked, and Cynthia was glad for once she didn't have to ask the questions.

""Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."

"Seriously?"  
When it was their turn, he and Cynthia glanced at each other and scrapped off the best portion of their meal. Though neither out right said who their offering was for, as the other demigods did, Josh muttered something about Iris under his breath, and Cynthia thought deeply before whispering,  
"Dear whoever my mom is, uh, I hope you like this modern sacrifice or whatever. I'm sorry about not being very good at this. Please claim me? Love Cynthia."

Josh gave her an amused smile at her words and she kicked him casually as the walked back to the table.  
The two 'newbies', as Kimmy seemed fond of calling them, had a blast at dinner. Though the Iris cabiners were all very deep and could get serious, they still proved to be jesters and could have fun. Cynthia harbored a wish that she was a part of cabin fourteen, but she knew it wouldn't come true, even more-so because of Chirons warning of sorts.  
As they finished their food, Chiron pounded his hoofs on the ground, which immediately got everyone's attention. The voices died down until the only sound was the crackling fire from the middle of the pavilion, and the occasional scrape of silverware from those still eating.  
"Good evening everyone," Chiron began, the a low response back rang out. He waited patiently for the voices to stop.  
"Now, of course, The quest group from yesterday who returned, they're now in good health! We'd like to welcome back Seth from Ares, Marine from Hecate and Greg from Hermes, and congratulate them on their recovery and completed quest!"  
At this, three campers from separate tables stood -one with her arm in a sling- and the rest of the campers erupted into thundering applause, the Ares cabin whooping and banging their fists on the stone table.  
Chiron once again pounded his hoofs and the noise slowly died down, the three campers sitting.  
"Also, we'd like to welcome two new arrivals, Josh Crugar, son of Iris, and Cynthia Moor, undetermined, but hopefully that will change tonight!"  
"Stand up," Kyle nudged them, and they stood hesitantly to applause that was just slightly louder than polite.  
"Psst, watch this," Grace muttered, then pointed upwards and a small rainbow erupted over their table, shining brightly down. The applause grew slightly as everyone craned to look at the beautiful rainbow.  
Chiron settled everyone down and gave Grace a look to disperse her art.  
"Also, three cheers for the brave satyr who fought and defended these two demigods, Brooklyn-"  
"How many times do I have to tell you all, I _hate_ being called that!"  
Everyone turned towards table twelve where a certain blonde haired satyr had jumped up with his objection. Cynthia was glad to note he seemed perfectly healed in his leg.

"-prefer B-Lyn! Or B! Really they're not that hard to remember, if anything they're simpler than _Brooklyn_!" He pronounced his name in a whiny mocking voice that rang out in the surprised silence. B-Lyn seemed to realize everyone was starring at him in utter silence, and coughed awkwardly before sitting down. A nymph by his side began scolding him quietly as another satyr punched him in the shoulder, hard.  
"Well, thank you for that insight _B-Lyn._ I hope I speak for everyone when I say we'll try to take note of that." Chiron responded, looking highly amused. B-Lyn flushed scarlet, and the tables burst into snickers.

"For a finale announcement, now that a certain dragon is no longer rampaging the woods, Capture the Flag will be this Friday! That's all." Chiron's horse legs bowed slightly as he reached for his plate and grabbed a roll. "Let's all make our way to the bonfire!"  
Cynthia and Josh shared a look at the mention of the dragon. They really didn't want to know.  
Cynthia smiled at the back of Josh's head as they made their way down the hill towards the amphitheater with the rest of the campers. Though Josh and her hadn't exactly been friends, as they had met that lunch hour, she felt like she could rely on him, and hopefully he felt the same way. She liked all the Iris kids, and Will, but she felt like she and Josh had been friends for longer. It was strange to feel so connected to someone, as she had moved around a ton and never had the opportunity to have a good friend like that.  
As Cynthia was lost in her thoughts they had proceeded to the amphitheater, where a huge bonfire burned high and bright in the center.  
They gathered around, standing or sitting with friends, and Cynthia found herself laughing and singing along with a small group of Aphrodite and Athena campers. The Apollo cabin played instruments beautifully and started up catchy songs with interactive choruses that even a new comer like her could figure out.  
At the end of the night, after roasting a truckload of smores, they settled down for a final song, a few satyrs began dancing around the fire, playing pipes. A nymph girl circled with them, singing out a slow, pretty song that sounded lovely on her own, and a silent few paired up and danced together by the satyrs.  
Cynthia felt a tugging on her hand and looked up to see a boy with a sharp nose, upturned eyebrows, and a mischievous smile. He pulled her gently up and close to him, muttering "My names Sean, from Hermes. Wanna dance with me?"  
She was nervous as there were only four other couples out there, but nodded anyway, grinning. They flounced out among the couples and copied the nearest pair, Sean swinging his arms around her waist, Cynthia gingerly placing her arms around his neck. They stayed a friendly distance away, and talked in low voices about her first day and how his had been when he first came to camp.  
"I don't even know if I believe in gods, though I suppose everything points towards it now."  
He smiled back. "You're a quick believer than. Usually, no one believes in them and it takes ages for them to fully accept it."  
"A bow came out of my skin. I'd say that's some proof."  
He laughed again, and Cynthia found herself smiling with him. His happiness really was contagious. She tried to think what she knew about Hermes. He was the god of messengers, travelers and... thieves? Despite that, thinking Sean was a thief would be stereotypical. He seemed nice enough anyway.  
All of the sudden, the music stopped. Everyone looked up, and Cynthia realized the crowd was whispering, looking towards one of the amphitheater entrances.  
"...Rachel..."  
"...a new quest?"  
"For the oracle to come it must be good..."  
"...shes back?"

Cynthia peaked at Sean. He was staring in the same direction as everyone else, looking surprised.  
"Sean, who's this Rachel?"  
He gave her a distracted half-smile. "She's the oracle, gives prophecies and stuff. You know."  
Well, actually, she didn't know, but that was enough information.  
Cynthia immediately started picturing some wrinkled, haggard old woman, waltzing in on a cane then screaming nonsense about the end of the world.  
When the so-called oracle emerged, she was nothing even close to that.  
The girl, Rachel, apparently, was probably about 16,tall, and slim with frizzy red hair and a freckled face. She was wearing a baggy blue T-Shirt under a black cloak-type-thing, and skinny jeans, ending in boots. She paused once she was in the entrance, in the dead silence with everyone's eye on her.  
Rachel took in sudden jerk of sharp air and her head tilted back. When she looked straight, her mouth leaked a wispy green smoke and she breathed out a raspy sigh.

_**"A Half-Blood of the Virgin Goddess,**_  
_**blessed by the light, blessed by the sun,**_  
_**Born of the moon, born of the hunt;  
Trying to fix what is amiss,  
In the process saving Olympus.  
Follow the trail of the falling dust,  
Hidden where the snake heads lie,  
No one will answer her final cry."**_

The girl, with a jerk, collapsed backwards, but two ready campers had already moved to catch her, like they were used to this sort of thing. They moved her over to one of the amphitheater seats as a buzz erupted in the crowd. Suddenly everything stopped again.  
And to Cynthia's horror, they all seemed to be starring at her now. Sean took a step away and whistled low under his breath.  
"Sean.. What is it?" She whispered, just short of panic.  
"You're being claimed." He whispered, jerking his head up.  
Slowly, ever so slowly, Cynthia tilted back her head to look at the air above her. There, amid a gleaming silver circle, was a wolfs head, crossed over with and slightly behind a bow. It radiated a shining metallic glow, and spun slowly.  
Cynthia gasped, and jerked, much like Rachel had moments ago. Suddenly, she was looking at herself, which, she reasoned, wasn't possible, unless she was dead.

Am I dead? She wondered. Do people have these out of body experiences when they're alive?  
But then, no, she couldn't be, as her body was changing, taking on a silver glow to rival the symbol. When the glow faded, it was still her body, still Cynthia, but she looked different.  
She was glad in a gossamer silver dress, flowing out behind her in an invisible wind. Her auburn hair was curled and gently streaming behind her shoulders, brushing over a quiver of arrows on her back. Her feet were bare.  
Suddenly, Cynthia, or rather, Cynthia's body, rose a bow, pulling an arrow from the quiver and shooting the claiming sign in one smooth motion. The sign shattered into diamond dust.  
And then, Cynthia was back in her body, collapsing to the ground, barely having time to see the silver dust settle over her as she blacked out.

DARKESTMOON

* * *

PHEW! Long chapter. Haha. Sorry for not updating. Been busy. Still am. Wrote this in less than an hour. Blah. Review? Love you!  
-Jen


	5. Γνωρίζοντας το παρελθόν

Γνωρίζοντας το παρελθόν

Knowing the Past

Silvery-brown eyes cracked open slowly, starring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Cynthia felt sore all over, and her throat was bone dry, which spurred a dreadful fit of dry coughs. The girl rolled onto her side, burying her mouth in her elbow as she struggled to breathe through the fit. Once she was able to control herself and glance up, she flinched back from a dark skinned face that was uncomfortably close.

"Cyn, we're so glad you're awake!"  
Her hands came up slightly, waving Josh away, and he pulled back looking embarrassed.  
"We were really worried, you've been out for awhile- Oh! Sorry, here," Cynthia pulled her sore body into a sitting position against the hard wood head board of the bed as Josh scrambled over to a small table at the footrest, pouring half-a-glass of what looked like apple juice, ice cubes clinking. He shoved a pink bendy straw in and rushed back to her side, holding it towards her.

The auburn teen grabbed it gratefully, hands shaking, feeling like she had been gripping something hard for an uncomfortably long time. Though she meant to only take a small sip, once the straw was past her lips she couldn't help draining the glass, after a shocked pause, for the drink was nothing like she expected. It wasn't apple juice at all, but a Peach Melba Ice Cream Pie flavored drink. And not just that, it tasted exactly like her father always made it, with his 'secret' add in of liquor in the homemade ice cream, "_Just because we should enjoy ourselves."  
_Cynthia handed the glass back to Josh, looking surprised, and the boy, back to his usual more reserved self, immediately asked what it tasted like.  
"Pie." She answered vaguely. "What is that stuff?"  
"Ambrosia," He answered confidently. "Around here, demigods have it to help heal injuries, but you can't have to much or you'll get sick. That's why I only poured you a bit."  
"Well you seem awful smart about everything."  
Josh scratched the back of his neck, looking almost guilty. "Yeah, well, I mean, outside of training, my cabin and everyone's been really great about explaining things to me..."  
Cynthia swung off the bed, noticing from the irregular feel of flowing fabric on her legs that she was in a silky nightgown.  
"Why do you say that like it's been awhile? How long was I out? What happened? Where am I?"  
"You're in the infirmary, in the Big House," A vaguely familiar voice said, and Cynthia glanced over to see Chiron, in a wheelchair, wheeling towards her bed.  
"You were claimed by the virgin goddess Artemis, after which you underwent a short-term transformation that was quite interesting."  
She blinked at him.  
"I thought you were a centaur? And you didn't answer, how long was I unconscious for?"  
Cynthia stood, swaying slightly. Her knees felt like she had just ran a few miles nonstop.  
"This wheelchair is a bit of a trick of mine." The man's intense eyes twinkled mischievously, then softened a bit. "And you've been in the infirmary for about four days."  
"What?! So what day is it!?"  
"Friday." Josh answered before Chiron could, but Cynthia wasn't done with her rapid fire accusation –like questions, that were now aimed at Josh since he had answered.

"How could I have been dead for four days!"  
"You, uh, weren't dead-"  
"What the heck is a 'short-transformation' anyway!"  
"You basically just changed clothes, got your hair styled, in like, three seconds-"  
"And why does that make me pass out for a week?"  
"It wasn't a full week, and dunno, guess bodily fashion changes take up energy-"

Despite Josh's best efforts, Cynthia wasn't satisfied, and soon Chiron interrupted, rubbing his temples.

"Cynthia, please calm down, everything will be explained for the most part."  
She sighed and nodded. Though she was a bit panicked, she could deal with this calmly, or at least that's what she was telling herself. No need to annoy everyone.  
"Where are my clothes?"

Chiron gestured to a neat pile of clothes on the bed to Cynthia's left. "Why don't you change then meet us on the porch, so we can all speak."

She nodded, even though it didn't sound like a request, and the two males filed out of the infirmary, closing the windowless door behind them.

The girl picked up the neon orange T-Shirt, examining the design. It was the same as what most of the other campers wore; Camp in large letters across the top, a small rectangle with a splurge of Greek, then Half Blood in the same white font as camp.  
The rest of her new outfit was a pair of faded black skinny jeans and a dark pair of combat boots. Cynthia slid into the new clothes, surprised everything fit perfectly, and wondered where the clothes had come from.  
Hoisting a foot onto the end table of her own bed to tie the laces, she looked around the infirmary, which had a detached feeling to it. There were eight beds on each side of the long walls, with intervals between them. All had nightstands to the right, and small coffee tables at the foot. Cynthia's was the only bed with anything on the table, the empty ambrosia cup and pitcher. She then figured it was because she was the only one currently in the infirmary, since the other beds were empty. On the wall opposite hers, there were several swords, shields and banners decorating the wall. There were no windows, but the ceiling was covered with three huge lights that gave the room warmth. Upon her looking around, she noticed the wall on her side also had decorations, or rather, a single decorative piece, being a long mural that stretched from the entrance door to the very end of the room.

Tying off her other shoe, Cynthia moved over to the mural, examining the part in front of her. Her bed was near the door, so the mural was near the beginning. To her though it didn't make a lot of sense.

It pictured what she assumed were the gods, in great forms, arguing in the sky, then was a battle, before three of the more powerful looking gods split into different areas. Sky, Ocean and… Underworld.  
Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, Cynthia thought, knowing the story. She realized she was in an ancient part of the mural, so walked quickly down the hall created by the footboards of the beds on either wall, searching for a more recent picture. Towards the end of the wall, she found a large battle taking place in what looked like Camp Half-Blood, with giants and demonic creatures pouring at warriors, who fought and fought, until suddenly a satyr was featured, who somehow seemed to be the cause of the enemy's retreat.  
She looked it over in closer detail for a few moments, distracted by the images of death. Would this be what she would face now? Now that she was a... Demigod? Claimed, at that, by a goddess forbidden to have children?  
Cynthia shivered slightly, but not from any sort of cold in the room. Then flushed a bit when she realized she was probably being awaited on the porch.

Speed walking to the infirmary door and stepping hurriedly out, she was struck with how large the 'Big House' actually was. Branching off from the infirmary door were three halls, straight, left or right. She could have gotten lost and endlessly wondered if it weren't for the partly open glass door streaming sunshine from her left. Through the clear polish pane of the door, Cynthia glimpsed Josh laughing and talking to someone doing pull-ups on the porch roofs trim. All she saw was a shoulder but guess this was where she was supposed to go.

She made her way down the hall quickly, new combat boots sounding uncomfortably loud in the quiet corridor. When she reached the porch, Cynthia timidly pushed open the door and stepped out, squinting in the glare of the bright sun that the porch really did nothing to shade.  
She was struck immediately by the sense of eyes on her, and swung her view sideways to lock eyes with a cold looking girl who was leaning in the only shade available, against the wall next to the door. Her arms were crossed and one leg was propped on the wall in a stereotypical 'cool' pose. Cynthia flinched from the glare and cast a glance at the others on the porch, hoping one of them would explain this hostility.

Will was the shirtless form doing pull-ups next to Josh, who was now twirling a glowy bronze blade in a show off kind of way; Chiron was playing chess at a table with the red-head oracle girl, who Cynthia remembered was called Rachel. No one hinted at who this other girl was. The Huntresses daughter looked back over timidly, steeling herself to meet the glare, and looked over the girl.

She was kind of punk in a way, silver boots, black skinny jeans, bright pink shirt with silver font reading 'Wild child' under a silver quarter sleeve jacket. Her hair was short and was kept out of stormy eyes by a twinkling silver circlet that looked kind of like a tiara.

Cynthia tried to glare back at her, but it was kind of hard since she didn't have a reason to make such bitter eyes. This girl though, her stare shot pure fury, disgust and hatred. She was debating between making a snarky remark or shrinking back into the Big House. Luckily, the auburn haired teen was saved by Chiron making his move on the chess board and looking up.  
"Ah, Cynthia, nice of you to join us."

The red head girl, Rachel, looked up to and smiled slightly. "We thought you got lost,"

And Cynthia couldn't decide if it was snarky or an attempt at a joke.  
The stranger girl didn't seem to be in a joking mood though. She didn't move, or take her eyes off of Cynthia.

"This is her?" Her eyes cast a disapproving look over the other girl. "Not exactly up to par with what I expected, though I didn't expect much from an illegal abomination."

"Thalia," Luke said warningly, dropping from the roof. "We're as curious as you, but that doesn't mean you have to be mean to your _sister."_

The girl, Thalia, scowled back.

"She's hardly fit for that title. My sisters are the other Hunters. Not this-"

Whatever foul comment she had was interrupted by clattering from Chiron as he cleared the chess board.

"Let's gather around, shall we?"

He reached over and pulled out the two chairs on either side of him, and Rachel did the same. Cynthia chose to sit net to the redhead- she seemed friendly and more approachable. Josh plopped down on the Oracles other side, and Thalia and Luke took their seats next to Chiron.

"You're story, Cynthia, is an interesting one."

He slowly began to set up the chess pieces in their lineup on the board, and Rachel followed kept quiet, though everyone else seemed impatient, shifting about like they were used to stories like these, and wanted to get to the point.

"Sixteen years ago, " Chiron began, settling into his wheelchair, "Your mother and uncle came to me in a panic."

* * *

_The sky was calm, but a storm brewed in her eyes, an intense protective passion, kindled for one who was not yet made. Apollo trembled; he knew the severity of what he had glimpsed. Being a god of prophecies was not all it was cut out to be, not when truths like this were revealed to them._

_The pine needles on the surrounding trees swayed slightly in the gentle breeze, betraying a false sense of calm._

"_This is no different form any other prophecy sister. Perhaps we are over-exaggerating, perhaps it refers to another."_

_The slim form who paced back in forth in front of the sun god turned an accusative gaze. Her auburn hair flickered about her pale shoulders as her eyes narrowed. _

"_You know it is not so! You know this is the destiny of my lineage, you know that this is for me!" _

_Apollo sighed. He did know she was right, but he didn't want to admit it. He was afraid of what anger Zeus would be in, if Artemis broke her vow. _

"_It could be one of your' huntresses."_

_Artemis was already shaking her head. _

"_You tell me of this vision, yet you refuse to see the truth that was revealed to you. This prophecy, you know it relates to yet another. We know of the truth. Tell it to me, again." _

_The golden aura man sighed and rubbed his temples, calling forth images he had seen previously. _

"_The girl stands alone, in Olympus, holding her bow in challenge to a great foe. The gods have abandoned their land. They dare not face this beast, this.. shadow that the girl bravely stands against. She is a reflection of you, a teenager, and she turns to look down through a cloud, glimpsing the Earth. The land is decimated. Fire reigns free and no mortals dare leave their shelters. Few demigods attempt to resist, but they are hopelessly outmatched by these shadow creatures. She brings her attention back to the beast, who is now focused on her. Drawing back an arrow, it spirals with rainbow light as she releases it. You appear next to her sister, resting a hand upon her shoulder in blessing, before disappearing as the arrow strikes the beast in the forehead. I see the future turn out grandly, as if she saved it. The prophecy sings to me, the words you already know. __A Half-Blood of the Virgin Goddess,_ _blessed by the light, blessed by the sun,_ b_orn of the moon, born of the hunt; Trying to fix what is amiss, in the process saving Olympus. Follow the trail of the falling dust. Hidden where the snake heads lie,No one will answer her final cry._

"_There is the second vision of course. Olympus is falling at the hands of the shadow, and now there is no archer to stop it. You stand alone in the ruins of our kingdom, trying to ward it off, while everyone else has already fled. The mortal world is in demigods have been __hunted. We gods no longer have anything to rule over. We are locked in an eternal battle with a darkness we cannot face."_

_Apollo raised his eyes to look at his sister._

"_This does not mean it is you who must bare the child."_

"_The virgin goddess, the moon, the hunt," Artemis glared at her brother. "It is me, I know it to be so."_

"_Then come."_

_The blonde haired god stepped closer to his sister, offering his hand. The tall grass of the area reflected pale green in the moonlight. Artemis tore her attention from the detail and raised an eyebrow._

"_Where?"_

"_To seek council, before we take it up with father."_

* * *

_The camp was quiet when they arrived, like an exploding star in the dark._

_The siblings moved quickly, knowing the layout well. Apollo visited often, and Artemis simply had the knowledge from her hunters, though she rarely visited herself. The lights of the Big House were on dimly, like they were expected. _

_They ascended the stairs and moved inside, navigating into a small comfortable room, mainly decorated with floral wallpaper and candles._

_A man with a wheelchair sat in front of a fire place, scruffy beard and thinning hair wild._

"_Where is Dionysus?" _

_Artemis asked, instead of a greeting. She and Apollo moved to sit in the ready chairs on the mans either side._

"_He's not currently in. I assume you've come because of the prophecy?" _

"_You always seem to know everything Chiron," Apollo said fondly, then fixated an intense stare on the man._

"_What do we do." _

_Chirons eyes twinkled mischievously, like this matter wasn't of importance. "You tell me."_

_Artemis huffed slightly and watched the embers of the fire jump in patterns, sparking pictures. _

"_Well, the world seems pretty much screwed without the child. There are several different futures that insist that is the case, but all the ones with the child alive seem to end relatively well."_

_The older man rubbed his neck with worn hands. _

"_It seems you have already decided then," _

"_Chiron, Zeus will not have me break my oath. I don't even think I am capable of bearing child." The auburn beauty gave him a desperate look. Though she wouldn't admit it, she had unbreakable faith in her brothers foresight. On top of that, every sign pointed towards this savior being her child. Who would she be to ignore that, when the safety of her family rested in her hands?_

"_There must be a way!" She insisted, gripping the arm of his wheelchair. _

_The man snorted. "Of course there is a way. When is there not. I will show you that path, and a year from today when the moon is at the right position and the planets cross, you will have your child."_

_The siblings looked disbelieving. _

"_Can it truly be that simple?" Apollo said hesitantly._

"_It can. Though you will take it up with your father the day of, for it would be wise not to let him know in advance."_

_He rolled himself away from the fire towards a small bookcase on the other end of the room. His hands pulled out a thick volume, bond in dark navy blue. _

"_This is a document of how all the gods came into creation, by their parents of otherwise. It should be fairly simply to devious something that will work."_

_Apollo mentally face palmed. Leave it to Chiron to act as though he had it all figured out, when the basic plan hadn't even begun to be forged. _

_Artemis didn't seem deterred. _

"_Where will this child live then? With you, to be raised as a champion? You have trained more demigods then your age, which is saying something. Surely that will shape her into the warrior we seem to need...?" _

_Chiron shook his head, thumbing through the book. _

"_No. You will find a suitable match, and gift the child to him. She will come to me when the time is right."_

"_If anything, the time will be wrong.." Apollo muttered, "If it means Olympus will be in shambles."_

* * *

_The moonlight was heavy, dripping form the heavens like molasses upon her clear face. The child clutched to her chest was silent, watching with moon colored eyes as Artemis knocked hesitantly on the balcony glass door. The curtains drew aside almost immediately, and the window revealed a shocked male face. He slid open the door face creased with amazement as he looked around for any possible way the woman could have reached the balcony. There was no stair or ladder, or anything really. _

_She brushed past him and inside the room, pacing slowly. _

"_Artemis, I..." He paused when he saw the baby clutched in her arms. His jaw dropped even more. _

"_When you said you needed help, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind..." _

_The woman gave him a desperate look. "Last year you said you would always be there for me. I know you have a beau now, but please," She looked down at the newborn child and sighed. _

"_I cannot care for her."_

_The man stepped forward hesitantly, taking in the child. It really was no more then a newborn, maybe a week old. Of course, in reality, she'd been born from a flower earlier that night, but no one would believe that. _

"_The father...?" _

"_There isn't one." Artemis said immediately. The man took that in a way as saying he was out of the picture. _

"_I would have to discus this with Jamie. I'm not sure-"_

"_Don, this is now or never, please. I'm expected somewhere shortly." _

_He looked taken aback, but accepted the child as she was all but dumped into his arms. He had a kind soul, nurturing and would be a good father. But he wasn't sure how his girlfriend would feel, especially if they were going to have anything long term. _

"_Artemis, how am I supposed to do this? I have nothing a baby needs, no experience either,I-" _

_Artemis kissed him gently on the cheek, cutting him of, then kissed the babes forehead. _

"_She's blessed, through day and night. You needn't worry. You will do fine, and she will grow up to be a great hero to many."_

_Don looked down at the child, caressing her face with a featherlike touch. _

"_What's her name?"_

"_She doesn't have one. Feel free to name her." _

"_What? Hn... How about Cynthia? You like that?" The babe cooed gently and Don smiled. Artemis gave a sad grin as well as she slowly backed out onto the balcony. She'd made a good choice. The girl, Cynthia, would be just fine._

_When Don turned to finally accept Artemis's desperate plead for help, he found she was already gone._

* * *

Sorry for the delay and bad chapter. I have literally written this chapter FOUR STINKEN TIMES, because my laptop was old and spazzy and full of hatred towards me ._.

But I have a new laptop now, yay, for my birthday! So I'll hopefully try and get more writing done ^_^  
If theres any concerns about how events line up with each other, let me know. I lost my preplan for this whole story, so I'm just winging it lmao

Anyway, sorry for spacing and grammar and stuffff.

Happy Holidays everyone!


End file.
